Sources in the insurance sector expressed concern yesterday about the potential impact of the Revenue investigation on the industry, writes Colm Keena.

Sources wondered what exactly the Revenue was going to ask of the sector regarding hundreds of thousands of policies that were sold over a period of 20 years.

The Revenue Commissioners' chairman, Mr Frank Daly, said he was hopeful he would receive the insurance sector's co-operation, but industry sources wondered what exactly it was that the Revenue would want.

"These sorts of investigations put a huge burden on the institutions," said one source. "We are very surprised and unsure about what is involved and why an investigation is being initiated into events that happened years ago."

The source said that in the 1980s and early 1990s insurance companies had no obligations whatsoever in relation to asking customers where the money they were using to buy insurance policies came from.

"Now it seems we are being asked to contribute to an investigation into whether tax was paid by the clients on the money they used to buy the premiums."

There was no acceptance by the industry that it had been complicit in any attempt to assist in the evasion of tax, the source said. He wondered if the Revenue Commissioners was going to seek lists of clients going back over 20 years.

"It is surprising that the Revenue wants to revisit the past in this way. First it was banking and now the insurance sector. The sector complied fully with the laws of the time."

A spokesman for the Revenue Commissioners said it was its intention to negotiate with insurance companies in relation to how they might co-operate in the inquiry.

He said the model that would be used for this investigation was still being developed. It was planned that the request for people with liabilities to come forward would be made next year.